Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The Detroit Lions (4-4) will be looking for their first divisional win of the season when they visit the struggling Minnesota Vikings (5-2) on Sunday.

The Lions have already lost to the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers away from home and have gone just 1-7 straight up and 2-6 against the spread in their last eight on the road versus teams with winning records. The Vikings have lost two straight since a 5-0 start.

Point spread: The Vikings opened as 6.5-point favorites; the total was 41 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 29.3-12.7, Vikings (NFL picks on every game)

Why the Lions can cover the spread

Detroit may have a blueprint for beating Minnesota after the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles both knocked off the NFC North leader in successive weeks. Putting pressure on quarterback Sam Bradford is first and foremost, given the state of the Vikings offense, which ranks 31st out of 32 teams in rushing without injured running back Adrian Peterson.

Bradford has been solid in his first year with the team, but there's only so much he can do behind a porous offensive line that surrendered five sacks last week.

Why the Vikings can cover the spread

Minnesota needs to get back to the basics and concentrate more on running the ball, even without Peterson on the field. Bradford cannot keep taking the kind of punishment he has the last couple of games, and it would also help if the defense created more turnovers.

The good news for Minnesota is that Detroit has only one road win this season, which came in the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Since then, the Lions have gotten off to poor starts in their last three away from home, scoring only one touchdown combined in the first halves of those games. The Vikings should continue that trend here.

Smart pick

Detroit will be playing its second straight game on the road and will be facing a Minnesota team that has gone 6-0 ATS on the NFL point spreads in its last six games at home. After losing two in a row away from home, the Vikings will be happy to be back at U.S. Bank Stadium, where they have never lost, going 3-0 SU and ATS in three games since it opened this season.

Betting trends

The Lions are 7-21 SU in their last 28 games against the Vikings.

The Lions are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games against the Vikings.

The Vikings are 6-0 ATS in their last six games at home.

All NFL betting lines and point spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.